Unusual winter storm hits southern states

DALLAS, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. cities that rarely get measurable snowfall -- from Dallas to Atlanta -- endured the miseries of winter Friday with downed power lines and slippery roads.

AccuWeather.com said the unusual southern storm could bring an improbable phenomenon -- snow on the ground in every state. That requires a little snow in North Florida to round things out and is only possible because Hawaii's highest peaks are in the snow zone.

In Atlanta, the snow began around 1:30 p.m. EST, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The National Weather Service predicted at least 2 to 3 inches in the metropolitan area. Scores of crashes, most of them fender-benders, were reported in the city and its suburbs and many flights into and out of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport were canceled.

In North Texas, where the storm began Thursday, snowfall broke several records, NWS meteorologists said. In Dallas, 12.5 inches had fallen by 4 a.m. Friday, breaking a 24-hour record set in 1964.

Oncor Electric Delivery reported 206,000 homes and businesses were without power late Friday, The Dallas Morning News said. Restoring electricity was expected to take the entire weekend.

The company warned a second round of outages could be coming as tree limbs snap off.

About 200 flights were canceled Friday morning at Dallas-Fort Worth airport but were getting back online, airport spokesman David Magana said. About 350-400 of 850 scheduled flights were canceled Thursday, he said.

School districts, private schools, community colleges and universities throughout the region were closed Friday, officials said. Dallas had already declared Friday a "furlough day," closing all non-essential offices as a cost-saving measure.

In Alabama, snow was heavier south of Birmingham, The Birmingham News said. In the Birmingham area, dry air near the ground caused snow to evaporate in midair, meteorologists said, while in areas to the south it reached the ground.

Louisiana officials closed state government offices in 42 parishes for Friday because of the storm.